Buying slots on amateur hour..ermmm

Travel providers will soon have a new method of flogging their wares, thanks to those ever clever Googlers.

The search giant has announced plans to offer website owners the chance to profit from advertising when they embed video clips from YouTube, Google's video-sharing subsidiary, into their own sites.

Now anyone, including amateur bloggers (goodness me), can take a share of revenues when people view a YouTube clip with relevant ads.

The move marks a significant expansion of Google's AdSense platform.

Here’s how it will work (according to Google):

Video units on Google AdSense enable AdSense publishers to display videos from several YouTube content partners. The video units are ad-supported, and the ads are relevant to both the video and the site content. AdSense publishers and YouTube content partners will receive a share of the ad revenue, so video units enable both groups to earn incremental revenue.

"We're excited about video units because we see this as the first step in content distribution on AdSense," said a Google marketing executive, commenting on the new development.
In theory, this is a great idea which poses endless possibilities for hotels, airlines, tour operators, car hire firms, etc.

However, I stress "In theory".

I mean, would you be enticed by an ad for a romantic holiday to Spain whilst watching the "hilarious" video of the 10 drunken blokes on a stag do in Palma?

I don't think so.

Google may just need to fine-tune the "relevance" bit.

Tricia Holly Davis, chief writer, Travolution